1. Super Chibi Knight – Choices, Challenges, and Chibi
By James Meldrum
The website Newgrounds has been the most relevant fertile soil of game development, from
which talent can sprout and ludicrously thrive, ever since Alien Hominid was turned into a full game for
consoles back in the era of the Xbox, GameCube, and PS2. This time, another impressive entry comes
forth in the form of the action-adventure RPG title Super Chibi Knight. Created by Newgrounds user
BoMToons as a sequel to his previous title Chibi Knight, alongside the dad and daughter team that is
PestoForce, this game thrives on providing a whimsical atmosphere disguising plenty of potential
challenge underneath.
You play as a young child to be known as the Chibi Knight, who wakes up one day from
prophetic dreams of battle against a dark and powerful being. Sure enough, this being named General
Tso is on the cusp of returning from his defeat at the hands of the Beastmasters and Sorcerors in the
time between the first game and now. Looking to resurrect the first game's final boss Monocchio, he
has unleashed monsters upon the world, and it's up to you to restore order. To accomplish this mighty
task, you will need to choose a destiny: will you fight beasts with beasts, or harness the mystical
energies of the world?
Gameplay is quite simple in fare, and versatile enough to work on either keyboard or controller.
You use the directional buttons or stick to move and look around, a button to attack, a button to jump,
and a button for special abilities. You can even dash, either by double-tapping left/right or pressing the
shoulder buttons on your controller (a very nice foresight on the developers' part). Gameplay is much in
the style of Zelda 2 as an homage, like the previous entry – overhead view of the overworld, side-
scrolling view of the buildings and adventure segments. Both styles are done in an extremely cutesy
and colorful art style as was done with the previous title, so there isn't any concern over getting bored
by the visuals. Additionally, the music is quite fitting no matter what section you find yourself in.

2. Exploration is a major component of the game, with tons of secrets and sidequests to discover
as you play through each chapter of the story. Hidden sections on the map, plenty of achievement-
hunting opportunities, hidden rewards for exclusive Steam content, and even a very appreciated bonus
in the final level for each sidequest you manage to complete all await you. The game even offers
replayability in the form of the choice at the end of the first chapter – either journeying to the
mountains to become a Beastmaster, or sailing to the island of Mahou to become a Sorceror. Each path
has its own adventure sections and sidequests to accomplish, and each also provides you with a unique
special ability set guaranteeing that you handle what comes your way in the final chapter differently
depending on your choice.
There are only a couple noticeable downsides to Super Chibi Knight. First and foremost is the
inability to start a file over in the vein of new game plus or something similar. Once you beat the final
boss, your file is forever stuck with loading up the ending cutscene every time you open it, meaning
you can't even put the time in to hunt down achievements you may have missed. On that note, the
second downside is that the ending cutscene is entirely unskippable. Granted, if you're willing to wait a
few minutes, it isn't so bad as it even gives a possible sequel hint. The slight grinding nature of the
game (carried over from its predecessor) might be a nitpick, but honestly you end up investing so much
time into playing that you'll likely not even mind it at all.
All in all, Super Chibi Knight is a very high-quality title and a worthy successor to Chibi Knight
in every sense. You can play the free version on Newgrounds if you like, but you do miss out on
roughly 4 hours' worth of extra content and an increased level cap. The price for the game is definitely
worth giving it a shot, and it's something you very likely won't regret buying from Steam.
Rating: 9/10